Mark Steyn on Tuesday’s Election

I had been waiting for Mark Steyn’s take on Tuesday’s election. The author of After America sees America’s problems in their most basic form — our economy is on an unsustainable path and America voted Tuesday to keep trucking down that road. His point? We had a chance at a course correction, didn’t take it, so we’re screwed:

Americans as a whole have joined the rest of the Western world in voting themselves a lifestyle they are not willing to earn. The longer any course correction is postponed the more convulsive it will be. Alas, on Tuesday, the electorate opted to defer it for another four years. I doubt they’ll get that long.

Here are some facts:

For every $5 the government’s borrowed since 2009, the economy has grown 60 cents (seems worth it, right?)

We sell 70% of our debt to the Federal Reserve, who then prints more money to keep up (sure, that sounds reasonable)

America’s debt path is cool as long as the rest of the world is happy spending 19% of their own GDP into servicing our debt (yup, that’s sustainable!)

The debt that the average American owes on all levels is about $200,000 — just to pay for now, not considering future debt!

For more on the abyss Steyn refers to, read After America – it’s really eye-opening. It’s very similar to Pat Buchanan’s Suicide of a Superpower except Steyn has a better delivery, is more focused, and less wonky.